Ritual in Early Modern Europe by Edward Muir

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Summary

This comprehensive study of the rituals of early modern Europe argues that the period 1400 to 1700 witnessed a revolution in ritual theory. While reformers sought to replace sacraments with the authority of scripture, and despite attempts by intellectuals to dismiss their power, ritual practices endured as much as ever.

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Ritual in Early Modern Europe by Edward Muir

The first comprehensive study of rituals in early modern Europe, this book argues that between about 1400 and 1700 a revolution in ritual theory took place that utterly transformed concepts about time, the body, and the presence of spiritual forces in the world. In this work of synthesis Professor Muir draws on the extensive anthropology-inspired historical research that has been published during the past twenty years, and emphasizes the persistence of traditional Christian ritual practices even as educated elites attempted to privilege reason over passion, textual interpretation over ritual action, and personal moral rectitude over gaining access to supernatural powers. The themes discussed by Professor Muir are wide-ranging and include rites of passage, carnivalesque festivity, Protestant and Catholic Reformations, and the alleged anti-Christian rituals of Jews and witches.
'… coherent, readable, and stimualting … The book is just the right length for its intended student readership' Economic History Review
' … an excellent introduction to a wide range of topics that form part of that new history of sensibility, of emotion and experience that now occupies the attention of many early modern historians.' History
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780521409674
ISBN 10 0521409675
Title Ritual in Early Modern Europe
Author Edward Muir
Series New Approaches To European History
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Year published 1997-08-28
Number of pages 303
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.